Is It Impossible or Is It Inconvenient?

Credit: Tiffany Fox

I asked this question of a plant manager in 1980. I can still see the look on his face. He answered that my request wasn’t impossible, but would be difficult. I responded that selling the order had been difficult too and left him to figure things out.

I shared this question and parts of the resulting story on LinkedIn two years ago. I wrote about a project I fumbled because I thought a request was impossible. I was guilty of breaking my own rule. If you’re on LinkedIn, and don’t mind scrolling, the post is still out there.

Today I want to talk about how demanding this standard changed my life, sales numbers, margins, and value.

Committing to accomplishing the difficult changed my mix of work. I still did plenty of regular projects. My company submitted prices, wrote orders, printed stuff, mailed and delivered. I was aware of those projects because I saw them in my billing. My service reps managed most of the details and I stayed out of the way.

My days were consumed with solving the “impossible.” When clients had stuff they couldn’t figure out, I got a call. Conversations were full of “we want to make a box that holds a cookie” or “we want a three-dimensional haunted house 50" by 40" by 15" deep.” Nothing was routine. Nothing was easy and everything was visible at the top of my client companies.

A funny thing happens when projects are hard. Price matters less. Success matters more. Prudent customers don’t risk failure to save a buck. They hire who they trust.

There were no bids. There was simply a cost. Clients and I sat at the table and figured out how to make their idea come to life, not how to be low bid.

In the early 2000s, I was asked to produce a real head scratcher. My plant manager and I worked out what seemed like a viable plan. Much of it was untried but we felt like we could make it work.

I can still remember my price. Estimating suggested $65,000. I looked at the estimate, considered the risk, and doubled the number.

My client approved $130,000 without batting an eye. The project (their success) was worth the cost.

What is my message?

What you do is valuable. How valuable you are depends on your commitment to being unique. Your resolve and resourcefulness set your price.

Your employer has spent big money on machines. Trust me. They’re in the revenue business not the impressions per hour business. Help them make work pay.

I decided anyone could do the easy stuff. The quote-and-hope world was not for me. I did those projects but they were filler. My bread and butter … my value to my employer was the hard stuff.

It’s a personal choice and you have to decide for yourself. You have to know what’s right for you.

As you decide, just ponder the thought. Is it impossible or inconvenient? What is your value?

You’ve got the ball.